


Of Cliches and Unpredictability (There's You)

by dibidibiwonho



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Family Drama, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Implied Sexual Content, Kinda, Light Angst, M/M, THE TAGS CAN BE MISLEADING IM SORRY, attempt on humor, but jisoo exists so lol, cheol is the cutest bean ever tho, i don't think this is a humor i take that tag back, jihoon is a good friend, jihoon just wants to live in peace, jisoo and jihoon are bffs, side verkwan - Freeform, this is different
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 08:02:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14304339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dibidibiwonho/pseuds/dibidibiwonho
Summary: Jihoon just wants to eat his ramen in the nearby convenience store at midnight in peace but Seungcheol exists and Jisoo's problematic life doesn't help either.





	Of Cliches and Unpredictability (There's You)

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this was supposed to be a one shot but i got carried away lol. so now there'll be at most 3 parts 
> 
> it's been a while since i wrote something and i probably sucked ass with the characterization and the plot here but, while i have no excuse for the plot, i do have one for the characters. i've been watching too much boku no hero academia and kacchan's character is rubbing on me soz
> 
> also,,, i hope u enjoy! ♡
> 
> ((i haven't proofread this so it's not yet edited but i'll get it over with asap)))

“That was great,” Jihoon coughed out in exasperation, sitting up in the bed as he pat the bed sheet around him to search for his clothes. He was then pulled back by a strong arm and instantly, sloppy kisses ran through his neck again, making him roll his eyes and groan, gently pushing the face near him away. “Stop it.”

He sat up again, this time looking through the floor for his jeans, which he luckily found at the end of the bed board. As he pulled the jeans through his legs, he heard the man behind him whine, “You're leaving already? It's four in the morning.”

Jihoon turned back to see the man on the other side of the bed, pouting like a five year old. If it wasn't for the blanket covering his naked body, Jihoon probably couldn't stop himself from kissing him hungrily. He couldn't help it; he mentally pat himself for scoring a hot guy into a hookup.

So Jihoon gave him a small smile—the most he could muster after a tiring sex. “Too bad. I got to go. I'm hungry.” He went back to pulling his jeans to his legs and thighs, which was one of the most difficult hardships he always went though through his life. 

The man—Jihoon was trying his best to recall his name—jut his bottom lip out before sitting up himself to reach for Jihoon's hand. When Jihoon looked back at him once again, he was giving him the puppy eyes that obviously meant that he wanted him to stay; but Jihoon couldn't stay. He never stayed during his occasional hookups. As attractive as the guy might be, he didn't want to be attached.

“No, Seungcheol,” Jihoon said sternly once he triumphantly remembered his name, pulling his hand away from the other's grip. He hastily took a shirt near him, which was most likely the stranger's, and pulled it over his head, disregarding how big it was for him. “Besides, I have to meet a friend this morning. I still need to sleep.”

“Sleep here,” Seungcheol whined further. He really looked like a five year old.

When silence was all he met from the smaller man, he sighed and dragged himself out of the bed, grabbing a random pair of sweatpants from the floor. “Don't you want to clean up first? Isn't the cum too sticky?” at this, through the dimly lit room, Jihoon glared at him, “My bathroom smells like strawberries, I'll have you know.”

“If that's your way of making me stay, you suck,” Jihoon laughed before stepping forward to the door. “Goodbye, Seungcheol-ssi. Thanks for the night.”

He heard the other whispering, “No goodbye kiss?” behind him, which he only chuckled at before heading out of the flat. 

He did feel sticky all over his body and he probably smelled like sex—however sex smelled like—but Jihoon truly couldn't see himself staying for another minute in the stranger's house. As sweet as Seungcheol might be, he was still a stranger. All Jihoon knew about him was that he was some guy who liked to drink a hard ass tequila in the bar—where they incidentally met, he wore a leather jacket during the cold Fall season, and that his flat was huge and furnished like it was meant to be put into a magazine.

Either way, still a stranger.

Just a stranger.

Jihoon sighed in relief when he caught sight of the elevator arriving at his floor but to his dismay, once he was about to step in, he heard exhausted pants behind him and he instantly knew who it was.

Turning around, it definitely was Seungcheol in his own glory, wearing a simple pair of sweatpants and a white shirt that somehow still made him look attractive. The fact that he was sweating didn't help his case. Jihoon truly gave himself a huge credit for finding an extremely attractive man to hookup with.

But of course, Jihoon fought the temptation and rose a brow with his lips in a thin line instead, “Did I forget something?”

“Can I get your number?”

Persistent. That should be added to the things Jihoon knew about him. He was fucking persistent.

“For what?”

Seungcheol scratched his nape and chuckled nervously. “I don't know. I'd like to get to kno—”

Jihoon turned back around at that, closing the conversation between them with cold silence. Stepping into the elevator, he internally groaned when Seungcheol followed him. Why the man was too keen on sniffing his tail and getting to know him, Jihoon didn't know. The point was, Jihoon didn't want to either. He had enough of attachments.

“I—” Seungcheol was stammering, like he genuinely wanted to converse with him. Don't get Jihoon wrong, he knew that Seungcheol was sincere, like his interest on him was deepened already. But this was too fast. To him, it was just sex. “I can drive you home. Or somewhere. You said that you were hungry, right? Walking at this hour is dangerous too. I should- I don't know.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I don't,” he was still stammering, “I don't really know. I'm not usually like this. I hope you don't think I'm creepy.”

Jihoon didn't find him creepy at all but now that he was thinking about it, he was goddamn creepy.

“If you drive me to the convenience store, will you be happy?” Jihoon finally gave in but the hesitancy was still laced on his voice. Why the elevator couldn't go down in high speed, he didn't fucking know.

Even with his back turned, he could still feel Seungcheol smiling at him. He had a pretty damn cute smile, in fact.

“I'll have you know that I have the hottest wheels out there. You're going to fall for me in instant.”

Jihoon muttered, fingers fidgeting with each other, “I'll be the judge of that.”

When Seungcheol boasted over his cool car or whatever, Jihoon imagined something along with a Porsche or Ferrari or one of those expensive ass vehicles that could be more valuable than his own life. Based on how his flat was furnished, it wasn't impossible. In fact, Jihoon would be lying if he said he wasn't excited to see a cool car. The way Seungcheol boasted about it, it seemed like he even owned a fucking plane.

Turned out, the hottest wheels Seungcheol claimed to be was a cruiser bike. A baby blue cruiser bike.

Baby blue.

Jihoon couldn't help but groan. Meanwhile, Seungcheol was grinning from ear to ear, lifting his leg over to the other side to sit on the saddle and patting the carrier for him to sit. “Come!”

“I think you were wrong, Seungcheol-ssi. We're not going for a drive, we're going for a fucking stroll,” said Jihoon with an eyeroll as he struggled to climb up to the carrier. 

If he was smiling at how foolish the other was being, he wouldn't admit it. Jihoon found himself difficult just for that but it wasn't something he regretted. Jisoo, his best friend, would always tell him the same thing anyway—Lee Jihoon was difficult.

Seungcheol started paddling away and through the cold breeze of midnight Fall, Jihoon made sure to hum a pop song to ease the freezing touch on his skin. He was gripping on Seungcheol's torso, cheeks pressed on his back as he watched the town passing by around him. The apartment buildings were barely lit, dimming the road no thanks to the shitty lamp posts, but at least Jihoon could feel some kind of warmth with the company with him.

This was something he wouldn't do. Albeit having hookups was also not a normal occurrence for Jihoon, whenever he would hookup with someone, he wouldn't actually get carried away and let them take him to a convenience store on a cruiser bike for him to eat. He was self aware on how distant he was from people but he wouldn't be too keen on calling someone like Seungcheol special just because he let him stroll with him at four in the morning. Jihoon needed to tell himself that whatever he was doing with Seungcheol, it was purely out of impulse. Maybe he just felt a little adventurous; either way, Jihoon refused to overthink about it.

If, you know, whatever he was doing wasn't overthinking.

In less than ten minutes, the pair found themselves stopping at the convenience store in town. Jihoon instantly hopped off of the carrier and went inside the store, never bothering to acknowledge the other man's existence. Even if he was attracted to Seungcheol, he had to keep things lowkey.

Soon, he was prepping up on a table to eat a packet ramen. He almost forgot that he was with someone until that someone pulled the chair next to him with his own meal.

“This is nice,” Seungcheol smiled at him before digging in to his food.

Furrowing his brows, Jihoon scowled. “Aren't you tired? You shouldn't have bothered taking me here and all. You could've just slept in your flat and, like, forget about the night.”

There was a mouthful of ramen in Seungcheol's mouth when he was expected to respond. Jihoon watched as he swallowed it all, even wincing at how hot the food was. “But I'm here now, aren't I? And why would I forget about the sex? It's practically the best thing out there.”

Jihoon wheezed on his food.

After a while of eating their ramen and conversing in the most uncomfortable way (at least in Jihoon's part), Jihoon rose from his seat. “I'm leaving.”

“Already?” Seungcheol looked like a kicked puppy and Jihoon didn't like it.

“Yeah. Thanks for taking me here, I guess.” Nodding, Jihoon waved at Seungcheol before walking over to the exit of the store. “And before you ask if you can take me home, no. Take care, Seungcheol-ssi.” 

When he walked out of the convenience store and caught a glimpse of the other man still sitting on the chair with his ramen, Jihoon chose to ignore the wavering look on his face. 

Right, no attachments.

**x.**

Meeting Hong Jisoo had always been entertaining for Jihoon. For one, despite being best friends, they barely saw each other because of their work schedules—Jisoo being an amateur chef and Jihoon being a producer slash tutor. Thus, whenever they would meet up, the conversations seemed longer than before, both sharing stories that they probably already told each other before but they would still tell. They were That kind of best friends. 

However, if there was one thing that Jihoon knew about Jisoo it was the fact that there would always be bad news whenever he was the one who initiated their dates. Every time he'd be the one to ask Jihoon out, it would always mean that something big had happened to him and he couldn't wait to tell his best friend about it. 

So Jihoon didn't know anything better than instantly ask, “What happened to you?” when he entered the coffee shop and sat on the seat across Hong Jisoo himself, disregarding how restless he looked because of a sleepless evening. 

His hypothesis of having some crazy news upon him was proven true when at the moment he asked, Jisoo wheezed on his tea and had a minute long silence of him pouting to the air. 

Eventually, Jisoo began to tell him what had happened, leaving Jihoon dumbfounded on his seat. 

You see, Lee Jihoon never took books as his forte. Music was more of his style, it was how he told stories. But nonetheless, Jihoon knew how cliché stories could be and to what extent they could achieve such... content. 

So when Jisoo told him that his parents had signed him up for an arranged marriage contract with another bachelor from a wealthy family, Jihoon's initial words were, “What the hell?” matched with a laugh that was so ominous that his other friends would call it The Evil Laugh. 

Hearing what Jisoo just said was just bloody ridiculous. 

Yes, Jihoon was never a big fan of literature and romantic stories. He had a habit of judging tropes that were too overused and sometimes (read: most of the time) his constructive criticism would come out as chastity instead. 

One of those tropes was marriage contracts. Somehow, the concept was too stupid in his eyes that he couldn't help but scream. So now that he was hearing that his best friend was in such a shithole, Jihoon could only see how ridiculous it was. In fact he couldn't believe it was actually something probable to happen in real life. Regardless of how successful Hong Jisoo's family could be, having their son as bait to have some sort of eternal connections with another wealthy family was too much for Jihoon's opinion. 

He, an average man from an average family, couldn't relate. 

“Stop laughing!” Jisoo groaned bashfully, rubbing his palms over his face. “You don't understand how difficult this is for me, you asshole!”

At that, Jihoon only laughed harder. “Of course I don't. I think you'd know how much brutality my mom would be willingly commit if she even grasps an idea that I have a boyfriend. I think by the time I'm engaged, I'm also dead.”

Jisoo pursed his lips and slowly took his cup of tea from the table. “I'm so doomed,” he grimly stated before sipping on the cup. 

Jihoon took Jisoo's whining about his life as a moment to analyze him with the short distance between them. Hong Jisoo, his best friend since college days, was an interesting person. He was the type of person who'd eat his Kitkat in a huge bite without breaking off the pieces, the type who'd dress down, the type who'd put milk first before his cereal—overall, he was the type of person Jihoon never imagined he'd befriend with but here he was now, sitting across him in a coffee shop as he cursed his family because of their credential ways. No matter how much of a loser Jisoo was though, Jihoon never denied his kindness. Hong Jisoo, albeit a dumbass, was sweet an precious and _must be protected at all cost_. And Jihoon just couldn't help but sympathize him because of how noxious his family was. 

“Well,” Jihoon drawled awkwardly, “have you met the girl yet?” 

Jisoo jut his bottom lip out and sunk on his chair. “It's not a girl. It's a he and I haven't even met him.” 

Jihoon snickered. While Jisoo would always tell him that he never cared whether he'd date a girl or a guy—“It was all about the personality, Jihoon!” —he still hadn't dated a man either. Through the years they were inseparable as friends, Jihoon had only seen him date women; so assumably, having a man as his fiance took quite a turn for him. Honestly, even Jihoon, who was self proclaimed gay with every inch of his body, was Shook. 

“Man,” he laughed uneasily, “how do you feel about that?” To relieve the tiny tension that was obviously oozing out of Jisoo's agonizing skin, he hummed a melody from a pop song he heard when he was on his way here. 

Jisoo's eyes seemed strained but he smiled. “Honestly, I don't care. Whether they're a guy or not, I still don't want to do it. I mean, who would? Who would want to get their life planned for them, especially marriage! That's sick and I can't even believe that it's, like, applicable. Shit, I'm gonna—” _oops, there it is,_ Jihoon thought, _he's crying._

“Have you,” Jihoon stammered, unsure of what to say, “have you told them how you feel?” He wasn't so good at comforting people. 

The elder nodded and sniffled, “Yeah and I did everything I thought I could do but they never even looked through my perspective. Mom thinks it's pointless since I don't have anyone to fight for, you know? Like, I shouldn't give a shit or anything because it's not like I have a girlfriend to take care of.” 

At that, Jihoon could only scoff. He didn't understand rich people's perspective in life and he despised how selfish they could be. 

Jisoo continued speaking when the former didn't respond, voice still shaky from recently crying, “They thought that me having nobody at the moment means I'm available as bait. Honestly, I can't believe them. It's like I'm being sold!” 

“Do you think if you do have a girlfriend right now, things would've been different?” 

“I don't know.” 

Jihoon sighed. This was too much that he could actually feel the stress in his best friend as if it was his own. 

There was silence between them until the elder spoke up again, “Jihoon? What if—” he stopped his statement, a hint of light instantly  glinting through his eyes as his sight snapped forward, directly at where Jihoon was seated. It was as if he had an epiphany. “Why don't we—”

Furrowing his eyebrows, Jihoon looked at his best friend cautiously before shrinking in his seat. He knew what the look on Jisoo's face meant. He had every right to be cautious. “Shut up, Soo.”

Jisoo looked at him with charm, revealing a toothy grin. “I haven't said anything.” 

“I know what you're thinking and, although it's a commonly considerable option for your situation, the look on your face that comes with it is bothering me as fuck. ” Jihoon averted his eyes towards the window next to them, eyeing the cars that passed by in discomfort. 

Soon, the elder had his left palm on the surface of the table between them and he was leaning on Jihoon's side with so much hope in his eyes that the younger felt like he could shit his jeans because heck, that was the first time he had seen so much desperation in his best friend and wow, Lee Jihoon was dumbfounded. 

“Jihoon,” Jisoo began, “my best friend for years, my former roommate, the amazing person I cooked for every morning during college, the great man who makes great music, the best producer and lyricist I've ever known, the incredi—” 

Jihoon scowled. “Stop it, you baboon! I won't pretend to be your partner or whatever and nothing can ever convince me otherwise.”

Jisoo pursed his lips sadly. “Nothing?”  
Oh no, he was going to sulk again. 

“Yes, nothing,” Jihoon confirmed with a nod.

**x.**

“I haven't worn this since my job interview phase,” Jihoon muttered, shrugging in an old black coat and then fixing his tie right after. He narrowed his eyes at his reflection upon him, frowning when he noticed his height once again. 

_I don't track my height but I'm pretty fucking sure I haven't even grown an inch since, what the fuck, literally middle school. The fuck,_ he thought in annoyance. Indeed, curse genetics. 

He let his fingers run through the messy dark waves in his hair, sighing at his teenage angsty self—technically adult angsty self, since he was already 25 years old—before turning his sight towards his best friend, who was sat on the edge of his bed, slipping in some fancy ass shoes in his feet. 

Jisoo was officially dressed in a complete and sophisticated attire when he stood up to crack his back and stretch his limbs, asking leisurely, “When's that?”

“Sometime after college graduation,” Jihoon responded half-heartedly. He wasn't in a very good mood. “So I was around twenty-three at that time. I'm not really sure. I'm getting old. I hate my life.”

“Pissy.”

Furrowing his brows, Jihoon glared directly at the elder with the deepest frown he could muster. “Excuse you? I'll have you know that the reason why I'm angry is because today is my day off and I should be spending it by watching anime but instead, _instead_ , I'm all dressed up in an old suit so I can go to some fancy ass dinner party and reveal to everyone that you're somewhat my boyfriend even when you're just my loser of a friend. If you ask me if I'm okay, I'm great.”

By now, Jisoo was laughing so hard while Jihoon was clenching his fists just as hard. It took the latter an entire week for him to convince him to agree on his deal, which was the entire fake relationship thing, and in that week Jihoon had suffered through a lot of shit, involving constant pestering from his best friend that resulted to lack of sleep because apparently Jisoo made it his method to send billions of text messages to Jihoon at four in the morning just to make him agree on the favor. If Jihoon felt his phone vibrate one more time, he wouldn't hesitate to chuck it in Jisoo's asshole anymore. He was sleepy, so let him be pissy.

Jihoon let his eyes trail back to his reflection on Jisoo's wall mirror, ignoring that said man was now wheezing on air, slapping the furniture around him because _“Oh shit, I can't breathe!”_ and _“I can't believe I'm LOL-ing in real life!_ and _“This is funnier than when Jeonghan had a fruit stuck on his a—”_ , which had him laughing even more with his face red because apparently he was reminded by another humorous shit.

Eyeing himself on the mirror, Jihoon still couldn't believe on what he was about to do. Arranged marriage was one thing, a fake relationship was another; this was too much of a story, a twisted story that somehow dragged him along. He knew that he needed to do it. Jisoo was his best friend and he needed him—he just had to do it, but this was lying. What if Jisoo's parents would sue him when they found out about it? What if they killed him right on their sparkling and polished granite flooring? What if he died out of anxiety that they'd discover the truth? He wasn't the best liar there was because of how awkward his actions were so he knew how doomed he was. Oh fuck. 

Glancing at his best friend, who was still giggling like a dumbass, Jihoon voiced out his thoughts, asking, “How long are we going to do this again?” 

Jisoo stopped shortly. “I— honestly I haven't planned much.” 

The former gaped. “You literally took a week on convincing me to do this and you have nothing planned?” 

That was it. Goodbye, world. Hello, prison bars. 

“I have. You know, what we've talked about before.” 

“Basically we just got together when you asked me out one day,” the younger scoffed. “A pathetic story, by the way.”

“I've been liking you since college and asked you out just this year. Maybe we've been together for a few months now?”

“How long exactly?” 

“Two, so it's like a new relationship but at the same time we're comfortable with each other.”

“Your parents know that we've been friends since freshmen year. I think they'd be suspicious if we're not comfortable at all.”

The elder rolled his eyes but nodded. “Do you think we can do this?” 

Jihoon snorted. “No. Have you seen yourself act? You played Laertes in junior year and you sucked.”

“You told me that I was good though?” Now Jisoo had his brows furrowed and his head tilted to the side, disbelief etched on his face. 

“I was pure and considerate at that time. The adult world hadn't scarred my perspective on my future,” Jihoon shrugged, “So how long are we going to do this?” 

Jisoo pursed his lips into a flat line, a hand on his jaw as if he was thinking thoroughly. “We need to convince at least Mom tonight. We need to all out our PDA. If they want us to screw each other in the middle of the hall, we're going to do it—” 

“Disgusting.” 

“—as long as we convince them. If we do, we'll play it out for another week or something and say that we've broken up because miraculously we feel like we're better off as friends.” 

Jihoon agreed. “Simple but it'll do.” 

The pair was now walking to the entrance of the main Hong household, a mansion somewhere in Seoul, with their hands intertwined. Jihoon noticed the other's skin shaking from his own and he wanted to comfort him, really, but times like this were difficult to handle as both of them were nervous.

“I have a question,” Jihoon brought up.

They were a few feet from the front door, which was so enormous that Jihoon was tempted to cry right there, when the two best friends stopped, green grass under their heels as the scent of cold, Autumn breeze surpassed through their noses. Jisoo's face was pale, anxiety swimming through his eyes as he watched the people in suave attires enter the mansion. Jihoon saw his throat bobbing as he gulped.

“Jisoo, I have a question,” the younger repeated himself.

Snapping out of his trance, Jisoo looked down at him with a strained smile. “Yeah?”

“What if they don't break off the contract? What if, even if they're convinced that we're a thing, they break us off instead? What do we do?”

Jisoo stared at him. There was silence floating between them and for almost a minute, they only took their time staring at one another. It was quiet except for the muffled chattering of the other guests behind them when Jisoo himself spoke, now with tiny specks of glistening tears on his eyes, “Then we'll let them be. I'll let them do what they want. It's not like oir opinions will ever matter.” His voice was shaky.

Jihoon frowned and instantly pulled his best friend in his arms. “No. We won't let them do that. They can't hold your life, okay?”

Even with his voice muffled, Jihoon could still Jisoo muttering, “Actually they can. They always have.”

While the exterior of the mansion was beautifully structured and finely designed, the interior of it was just superior. Right on the first step, Jihoon couldn't stop himself from gaping at the furnishing and the elegant walls around him.

It didn't help the fact that the guests inside were dressed that matched the eloquence of the whole place, bearing insecurities in Jihoon's mind. After all, this house could be more valuable than his life and surely, these people could probably buy his entire existence with their pocket money. Whilst he was just there, a man from an average family, wearing a coat he bought many years ago—based on his inability to grow, it could possibly be bought from his middle school days—staring at the scene upon him.

Lee Jihoon's initial thoughts were simple: _he didn't belong here_ , accompanied by, _he's so screwed._

He felt an elbow gently hitting his side. “Stop looking like that. They'll think you're weird,” Jisoo whispered, amusement flaring in his eyes. Jihoon smiled when he saw that the uneasiness was slowly wearing off of his best friend. 

He hooked an arm around the taller's, dragging him towards an area that had less people. “Your chandelier is so huge it can probably save more people than the boats did on Titanic.”

Jisoo chuckled, bumping his hip with his own. “You haven't seen the toilet room. Even I, who grew up here, am still surprised.” 

After looking around to mesmerize their surroundings, they finally went back to their plan. With their hands together, they searched for Jisoo's parents with their hearts thumping quicker than usual. Finally, they found them somewhere in the hall, happily speaking to some of their guests. 

There was a few feet gap before their aim when Jihoon halted from walking. “You should walk in first. Then I'll follow. Maybe chat a few minutes together before bringing me up or something.” 

Jisoo looked at him, agony was back on his face. “Are you serious?” 

“You planning on giving your mother a cardiac arrest?” 

Jisoo finally walked off, directly towards his mom as the younger watched. He greeted him first, surprising his mother and pulling him into a hug, obviously thrilled to see his son. They talked for a few more minutes, Jihoon was still watching, until he decided to join in. 

His timing was perfect. 

“By the way! You have to meet your fiance soon. His mother told me that he should be coming as well.” 

“About that—” 

“I can't wait for the marriage, son. It'll be so beautiful and the media will be in awe at how impressive the Hong and Choi households can pull something so stunning. I've spoken to many designers an—” 

“Mom!” Jisoo interrupted, irritation on his face. He put a hand on Jihoon's waist, pulling him closer to him once he spoke, “Jihoon and I need to tell you something.”

Jisoo's mom, albeit obviously caught on surprise at where her son's hand was, pulled a smile at the youngest of the three's direction. “Oh Jihoonie. I didn't even notice you ther—”

“Mom, we're dating!” Jisoo finally stated, louder than he intended to that the people near them obviously heard, based on the eruption on muffled whispers exchanged. Jihoon could feel the hand on his back tense up. Oh no. 

Jihoon pulled a nervous smile. “H- Hello.”

Jisoo's mother had her brows furrowed before she chuckled. “Oh please. You can't fool around like this, Jisoo. You're too old for mischief.”

Jihoon gulped, hands shaking. He lovingly leaned his head on Jisoo's shoulders out of comfort and said, “It's true, Madam. This is why I'm here, so we can personally tell you about our relationship. We feel like you have the right to know, especially with your plan on Jisoo's future.” 

“We're happy together, Mom,” Jisoo added, voice a little too desperate now. “You want me to be happy, right?” 

Jisoo's mother stared at the pair blankly. It took moments, anxious moments, that almost drove the couple insane. They knew how shitty their acting was but at this point they were already desperate. 

Another second came before Jisoo's mom spoke, “We'll talk about this later, Jisoo. Not here.” She hooked an arm around Jisoo's free arm and pulled him to her, breaking the glue between him and Jihoon, and dragging him farther. It seemed like they were going to another room to talk as Jihoon stood there, somewhere in the hall where wealthy men and women came to meet in their pretty attires and expensive glasses of wine, dumbfounded. 

 

Jihoon spent ten minutes standing on the same position with a glass of wine in his hand. He was waiting for his best friend to come and rescue him, with his arms open saying his mother believed in their crappy lie. He was hopeful, but beneath his hope was the reality that what they did was just stupid.

It was absolutely stupid. Thinking about it now, not everyone could really pull a fake relationship, especially with their situation. Jisoo entering their home with his apparent boyfriend just to break off the marriage contract was ridiculous and Jihoon knew that it was something hardly believable. It was too obvious and he was certain that Jisoo's mom had somehow already predicted that her son would pull something as awfully moronic as this.

However, nonetheless, Jisoo was desperate. He couldn't think of anything else that could stop his parents from putting him into a cage and control his entire fucking life. This was the only thing he could come up with that, besides the cliché and the incredulous part, could actually work. Jihoon could understand his judgment.

So now, with his fingers shaking and his lips forcing himself to take in another glass of the white whine, Jihoon could only pray to God that their little act managed to work somehow. He knew that their scheme was far from being done but their first goal was to make her believe even just for a little bit. He wished that they managed at least that.

Another minute came when Jihoon felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. Pulling it out, it was a text from none other than Jisoo himself,

**douchebag in distress**

_we've talked_

_and we're still talking  
about it_

_well,, technically,,,,_

_she's yelling and im_  
listening intently and  
praying to god that  
she'll listen to me ffs 

_but she's mad_

_which is a good thing  
i swear_

_but then this will most  
likely take a lot of time_

_meaning her mood's_  
been crushed and she's  
shittass mad at us rn  
that she's not gonna  
come back to the party  
at all and that means  
so will i 

_im sorry hoonie ill ttyl_

_but i cant meet you back  
there again_

_my ears are practically_  
ready to be ripped off  
bc i know mom's gonna  
be screaming for the  
entire evening 

_ill call u later. have fun_  
in the party and go home  
safely ok? love u 

Jihoon groaned. That meant he was going to go home alone. 

Quickly texting back a _FUCK YOU love u too_ , he took his phone back to his pocket before launching in another glass of wine. While he wanted to experience more of the dinner party and the elegance the guests expressed, he couldn't feel the enjoyment at all without company. Dragging his feet back towards the front door, he decided to come home.

**x.**

Jihoon didn't come home right away.

It wasn't as if he didn't out of his own will. _He couldn't_ , not when he was worried about his best friend.

He had only met Jisoo's mother thrice before so her impression towards him was nothing but kindness and fascination. However, Jisoo had told him stories about his mother. Both of his parents were very manipulative when it came to him and how he controlled his life but his mom was especially worse. She wanted to go her own way.

Jihoon couldn't be peaceful by himself in his own apartment so he decided to pass by the convenience store a few miles away from his home. It was almost midnight and the air was too cold that the thick felt of his coat couldn't help his skin at all. Sitting on a chair near the entrance of the convenience store, he settled on buying a can of cocoa and looking up at the dark sky through the glass walls.

There were no stars at all.

“All there is, is the tiny, old, and lonely moon,” he muttered, chugging on to his can of beverage out of exhaustion. He had tiring nights all the time, but this one seemed to be tripled the suffer. Or perhaps that was just Jihoon thinking deeply and dramatically.

He was in the middle of sipping on the can of his drink once again when a familiar voice beamed behind him, “Oh, we meet again!” The scent was familiar, the voice met the old enthusiasm, the night almost brightened—Seungcheol.

Without looking behind him, Jihoon spoke, “Indoor voices.”

Why did his lonely evening have to become more frustrating than it already was? 

There was no response for another minute, and then two, and then three, and Jihoon almost felt relieved that perhaps somehow the latter might have realized that he was bothering his night and actually left him alone. 

But oh no.

A full five minutes of silence came until Seungcheol came padding towards him with a tray of two packets of ramen, both steaming hot and nearly ready to be eaten. “Hey, Jihoon.” He took a seat next to the shorter male, settling one packet in front of him and the other in front of himself.

“What's this?” Jihoon asked, bewildered by Seungcheol's actions.

“It's called ramen,” the latter answered, mouth already full.

Rolling his eyes, Jihoon scoffed. “I know, but why?” 

“I thought you might be hungry.” 

“Well, I wasn't.”

Seungcheol smiled at him. “Eat it anyway. It's rude to reject treats.” 

Jihoon glared at him before digging in, hesitating at first but taking up the treat after. They pair was eating in a comfortable silence before Jihoon muttered a simple, “Thank you. You didn't have to.” 

To which Seungcheol just had to raise his voice, beaming, “It's alright. I didn't even think I'd see you again—” _same_ “but after all the praying I did, look at us now.”

Jihoon couldn't help but feel amused. “You prayed to see me again? You're ridiculous.”

Seungcheol snorted but the smile on his face was gentle. “It's called _infatuation,_ sweetheart.”

If Jihoon felt his cheeks warming up, he chose to ignore it. “I know what infatuation is, asshole.”

If there was something very evident about Seungcheol, it was the fact that his smile never left his face, or at least whenever Jihoon would see him. He was like a child trapped in an adult man's body. 

“So,” he started, pausing from taking another mouthful of noodles from the packet and eyeing Jihoon's body, “why are you dressing so fancy today? You look like you came from your high school prom.” 

“That's because I did,” Jihoon stated, voice fixed into a monotone. 

Terror was immediately drawn on Seungcheol's face. His eyes were wide and for once he wasn't smiling. Dramatically gasping, he slightly shrunk on his seat and yelled, “Don't tell me you actually came from a high school prom! Don't tell me you're actually underage! Don't tell me I actually fucked a minor! Don't fucking tell me, I swear to God, that I'm going to jai—” 

“I'm bluffing. I'm twenty-five.”

He was frozen. Slowly, Seungcheol fixed himself on his seat, eyes dropping on his food. “Well, I'm a year older. I'm your hyung then,” he responded as if nothing happened, taking the mouthful of noodles from his chopsticks. 

Jihoon laughed. _An idiot._ “I didn't know this is a competition on who's older, old man. Besides, you looked like an idiot just now.” 

Seungcheol huffed. “You fooled me. I literally thought I was going to jail for pedophilia.” 

Jihoon snickered, taking in the cup of noodles to his lips to drink in the soup. In his mind, the terror on Seungcheol's face flashed and he almost choked. 

“What if that were true, you know? All this time, I was hitting on a minor.”

“Then I'd happily send a lawsuit against you.”

“Shut it.”

Jihoon chuckled. “Do I really look like someone who came from prom?” 

“You don't even look like someone who's applicable to go to prom. You're like a try hard freshman or a middle school hipster.” 

The shorter snorted. “There's no such thing as middle school hipsters.”

“It's the fucking twenty-first century.”

“Oh. Well, yeah.”

Silence filled between them for a while. It was different, something unusual for Jihoon. He hadn't met Seungcheol much before but he had gotten used to the fact that he was a chatterbox. He never stopped talking.

So far, all Jihoon could feel was fear. The way the two of them were talking, it provided enjoyment to him that he couldn't explain. Lee Jihoon was actually satisfied with the presence of Seungcheol, a person he barely knew that he was better yet called a stranger. He knew it was wrong. He had told himself a couple of times that having attachments was the least he could have at this moment and he knew that he shouldn't make the elder an exception.

But Jihoon was dumb.

He was so fucking dumb.

“So,” now he was starting conversations, _wow Jihoon_ , “what are you doing here at this hour?”

Seungcheol glanced at him from looking at the sky through the wall. There was still a soft smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. If Jihoon would count on the love stories he knew, this was most likely the moment the love interest would tell him a long ass line that was filled with philosophy and passion and intellect that would sweep Jihoon off of his feet.

When he prepared himself for the questions about life that might bear into him having an existential crisis, Seungcheol grinned and finally answered, “I got hungry.”

Jihoon stared at him before looking at the sky instead. Fuck that. “Jesus.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing.”

“How about you? What are you doing here?”

Jihoon contemplated between saying something interesting or idiotic just to keep the conversation into a minimum. Either way, he shrugged and said, “I don't want to go home yet. I have too much in my mind.”

“One in particular may be?”

“Your idiocy that may drive me insane one of these days.”

The elder laughed before cooing. “ _Aww,_ you think about me!”

Jihoon rolled his eyes. This was too much.

“Do you,” Seungcheol spoke again, stammering, “do you want to get out of here? Like, walk around the park or something?”

This took another turn. Jihoon didn't want this. He wasn't even expecting this. As much as he was willing to provide such tiny attachment with Seungcheol, all he ever thought of was their midnight conversations in the convenience store. He didn't intend to go beyond that.

Jihoon chose to laugh. “The park is a few miles away from here, idiot. My house is closer.”

“But you said that you don't want to go home yet, right?”

Reluctant, Jihoon nodded. “Yeah.”

“Let's go. I got a new baby, by the way. Cool ass wheels that will blow you the fuck away!” Seungcheol practically jumped out of his seat, grinning so brightly that Jihoon wondered if it really was pass midnight by now.

Loosening his tie, Jihoon snickered at the elder's statement. “Cool ass wheels, he says. A tiny bicycle, there is.” He stood up from his chair, glancing at the employee behind the front counter to bow thankfully and politely.

Seungcheol chuckled and reached out to ruffle Jihoon's hair. “It really is a cool one this time, Jihoonie. I was just showing you my soft side before. Now, I'm like the bad boy in town.” 

“You're a twenty-six year old man. Don't call yourself the bad boy in town because the embarrassment is so high in that one.” 

Seungcheol took him outside and for a moment Jihoon truly expected for a better vehicle that the other must be really proud of right now. The way he boasted about his great wheels was always bizarre that you couldn't help but feel the same hype as him. The way he chattered about it, Jihoon expected an actual car. Perhaps not as flamboyant as Porsche or Lamborghini, but _something._ Something that wasn't a fucking bicycle. 

At last, they finally arrived at where it was parked, a few feet from the convenience store. Frankly, Jihoon couldn't believe what he was seeing. The moment he saw the ride he was getting into, he couldn't help but be in disbelief. 

“Honestly, Seungcheol-ssi.” He was drawling off. He didn't even know what to say. 

“Yes, Jihoon-ssi?” 

“Were you being sarcastic or not?” 

“What, why would I?” 

Jihoon sighed and climbed on the scooter, moving to the edge of the seat for Seungcheol to have his respective space. “Let's just go.” 

At least it wasn't a bicycle.

**Author's Note:**

> i'll post the following chapter soon! please give this some love and tell me what you think! any comment would be appreciated. thank u ♡


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